Christian Harrison

Professor Rob Cohen

ENG-111

10/20/2021

The effects of music on mental health

Music is the language of the world, an ancient art form that has made its way down

through the centuries and has consistently been a pillar of society and might always be, but it is a

proven fact that music is a profound healing element in many ways. In many ways it was the

world's first medicine. The mental healing properties of music range from reducing stress to

increased motivation to nerve stimulation.

The effects of music on stress are vast. Stress is one of the #1 causes of cardiovascular

issues, high blood pressure and obesity(stress eating). A study conducted by the University of

Nevada discovered that music can have the same neurological effects as medicine. This means

music can in theory physically heal the mind and cause for the relief of mental strain and mildly

prevent episodes such as strokes, seizures, panic attacks and stress related injuries. Medically

speaking stress is, “the body's response to physical, mental, or emotional pressure. Stress causes

chemical changes in the body that can raise blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. It

may also lead to feelings of frustration, anxiety, anger, or depression.” When you are stressed a

chemical called cortisol is released and this chemical is good in low doses and helps to repair the

body but in high doses can begin to cause things just the opposite of that with the side effects

being a flushed face, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, skin changes (bruises and purple stretch

marks) and muscle weakness.The listening of music can even suppress the release of cortisol and

allow it to be served to those small needed doses. At UNR the research team even got as deep as
Christian Harrison

Professor Rob Cohen

ENG-111

10/20/2021

to find which frequency gave the preferred result and which instrumentation was the most

suitable to put the brain in a relaxed state and they gave ample evidence to these instruments

being faster and more efficient to affect change in the brain. They found that to relax the brain in

a stressful environment or state its best to listen to music in the 60-65 bpm range and with

frequencies from 8-14 hertz range for optimal relief. The researchers found that the

instrumentation most conducive for mental clarity in times of stress are a bit unorthodox. It was

said that “A bit surprising is that Native American, Celtic, Indian stringed-instruments, drums,

and flutes...” There are several different ways and combinations of instruments and frequencies

that can be used to relax the mind which can even include listening to your favorite songs but

that sometimes can have adverse effects because in cases i familiar songs can start to invoke

thought and in certain cases can begin to make the brain restless. Music is an emotional

contagion which means it can persuade you to feel different than you would feel if you did not

hear it. A person can become heavily motivated from music; you can become angered by the

lyrics and the sounds that push your adrenaline up. In many cases it brings up a feeling of

nostalgia that might actually start to make you stressed. There was a research team at Stanford

that found that rhythmic music has been associated with inducing trance states of the mellow

brain and allowing for neurological repair.

Aside from stress, music can have a profound impact on mood and thought as mentioned

previously. Specifically depression( “A mental health disorder characterized by persistently

depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily

life.”(Webster). Depression is the leading of death in people aged 15-30 in the United States in
Christian Harrison

Professor Rob Cohen

ENG-111

10/20/2021

the last year about 44,000 people have died from suicide and most of those were caused by

depreesion. Because of this in recent studies researchers have been trying to combat this awful

reality, they believe that music is one of the world's oldest mood stabilizers and has a prodigious

impact on the lives of test subjects from age 15-30 causing the rate of depression in the group to

go down drastically. When clinical depression sets in the brain begins to make the body lethargic

and tends to release a chemical called cortisol(released when stressed) which fires off

neurotransmitters that makes the mind more susceptible to emotion and less logical which in

causes people who are already stressed to become emotionally which is depression. The

researchers found that music reduces cortisol levels and allows for mood to level out. It was

shown that people participants when shown peaceful/relieving or music from their favorite artist

or genre used it to find comfort and it began to distract them from the thoughts holding them

down and allowed them to keep them fighting. Many from the study turned to music in their

permanent treatment for depression to see results immediately.

So furthermore music is an aid that has several healing properties and when used the right

can be extremely useful when the other alternative is medication which can have adverse side

effects. Music may also have side effects causing individuals to do rash things that they

conceptualized while listening but 99% of the time is is the best cure for mental unrest that could

lead to stress induced strokes, seizures, deep depression and obesity(stress eating)
Christian Harrison

Professor Rob Cohen

ENG-111

10/20/2021

Works Cited

Adler, Sarah Elizabeth. “Positive Effects of Music for Mental Health.” AARP, 30 June

2020, https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2020/music-mental-health.html.

“Releasing Stress through the Power of Music: Counseling Services.” University of

Nevada, Reno,

https://www.unr.edu/counseling/virtual-relaxation-room/releasing-stress-through-the-power

-of-music.

Saarman, Emily, and Emily Saarman. “Feeling the Beat: Symposium Explores the

Therapeutic Effects of Rhythmic Music.” Stanford University, 31 May 2006,

https://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/may31/brainwave-053106.html.

Stewart, Joanna, et al. “Music Use for Mood Regulation: Self-Awareness and Conscious

Listening Choices in Young People with Tendencies to Depression.” Frontiers in

Psychology, Frontiers Media S.A., 24 May 2019,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6542982/.